A CHAMPION MADE – Barnstable wrestler Will Henson became the first-ever State Champion in the history of the program Feb. 11 in Weymouth, winning by technical fall in the 170-pound class.

Barnstable wrestler is first-ever State Champ

On the eve of Barnstable’s final regular season wrestling meet, Will Henson stated that he wasn’t finished. He had his sights set on more wins, starting with the MIAA Div. 1 State Individual tourney. If he won, he would be the first Red Raider wrestler to achieve the milestone.

Henson officially made history Feb. 11 when he bested four opponents in the tournament to become Barnstable’s first-ever Div. 1 State Wrestling Champion.

“It feels great,” said Henson of his milestone victory.

At the meet in Weymouth, Henson, in the 170-class, battled four challengers to claim the top spot, beginning with his pin of Waltham’s Alan Carias in just 30 seconds.

Next up was Chelmsford’s Ben Melisi, whom Henson defeated 9-2 before moving on to face Ray Stebbins of Lexington, who fell to Henson 15-0 in a technical fall.

The video of Henson’s victory against his last opponent of the event, Weymouth’s Sean Murphy, says it all. Every time Henson approached, Murphy backed up, apparently wanting little to do with the Barnstable phenom.

“I wrestled him the week before and pinned him in like a minute, so he was pretty much backing up the whole time,” Henson said.

Several minutes and one technical fall later Henson was crowned State Champion.

Henson began his wrestling career in fourth grade under the tutelage of Mark Barrett and Rob Dawson, coaches in the Barnstable Youth Wrestling program. Henson attributes his start to his grandmother, who signed him up as a means of giving him something to do.

“I was like, all right, I’ll try it,” Henson recalled. “I had no clue what it was going to be about. I tried it, went to a few tournaments, ended up liking it, winning my first few matches. I said, ‘I really like this. I want to be good at it.’”

In time, wrestling became a passion for Henson, a junior at Barnstable High. While other athletes participated in various sports, Henson focused solely on wrestling, attending programs year-round at the Dungeon in Hanover, at numerous independent tournaments and through his local program.

In order to step up his prowess, Henson also worked with John Clark, an All-American wrestler from Ohio State University, going one-on-one with him regularly throughout the summer of 2011.

It was his off-season efforts that Henson said gave him the confidence to go for the State title.

“I just know that I put in more time than everyone else,” Henson said. “This past off-season I pretty much wrestled nonstop. I kept on wrestling all the way through this year so it’s not like I’ve been off the mats for any period of time.”

Henson also added weightlifting to his training regimen, and has been impressed with the results.

“I had never lifted before and I got a ton stronger and a ton bigger,” he said.

The physical demands of training only served to immerse Henson deeper into the sport.

“Wrestling’s a great sport. A lot of people don’t see how hard you have to work at wrestling to excel in the sport,” he said. “It’s the hardest sport out there.”

Barnstable’s head coach Peter Bertucci applauds Henson’s work ethic.

“His work ethic and dedication helped him go from a good wrestler to a great wrestler,” Bertucci said.

Bertucci said Henson’s impact on the team is positive.

“He’s a great role model for all the rest of the wrestlers,” he said. “If they want to be successful, they can follow his lead.”

He described Henson’s leadership style as “quiet.”

“He’s a quiet leader. He doesn’t draw a lot of attention to himself by yelling or getting overexcited, but he just gets to work and does a great job,” Bertucci said.

What Henson appreciates about wrestling is its individuality. Although a wrestler is part of a team, when it comes time to hit the mat, it’s about the individual wrestler in that single match.

“Unlike any other sport, in wrestling when you win you do it yourself.” Henson said. “You have control of everything; whereas other sports you don’t have control of if you win all the time. There’s no feeling greater than winning a hard match when you’ve put in the time.”

In spite of making BHS athletics history, however, Henson isn’t satisfied.

“I’m so hard on myself. I feel like I never wrestle to my potential,” he said. “I feel like the best is yet to come. I’m still improving.”

That attitude may serve Henson well as he continues his post-season push, which now includes trips to All States, and, hopefully, the New England tourney.

“I want to finish off winning All States and New Englands, and then I want to be an All American at Nationals, which is top eight,” Henson said. “Next year I want to win Nationals.”